Batz enlarges its Kunshan plant

Jan 20, 2017

The Basque cooperative consolidates its presence in the Chinese market through the enlargement of its Kunshan plant.

The Batz Group continues to consolidate its presence in the Chinese market. An event was held last Friday to celebrate the opening of the extension to its Kunshan plant on the MONDRAGON business park in China.

The event was held against the backdrop of the trade and institutional mission to China that has been ongoing since Monday, involving a delegation from the Department of Economic Development and Infrastructures, headed by Javier Zarraonandia, the Basque deputy minister for industry, together with Alexander Arriola, director general of the SPRI Group. The ceremony was also attended by the local authorities in Kunshan, the vice-presidents of MONDRAGON Automotion, Oskar Goitia and Victor Arrizabalaga; the corporate delegates Jimmy Yan and Jason Zou, with Batz being represented by its director general, Bingen Aranzabal, the chief financial officer, Ana Camacho, the head of the Systems business, Jaime Urigoitia, and Luis Fernández Cuevas, manager of Batz Kunshan.

Assembly of automotion modules

The plant officially opened on Friday extends the one previously existing on this industrial park, and it will be used for the assembly of automotion modules. The new production plant occupies a surface area of 4,200 square metres, of which 3,700 will be dedicated to production tasks and the remaining 500 square metres will be office space.

This cooperative, which is headquartered in the Basque province of Bizkaia, has a significant presence in China, as besides this recently enlarged plant on the Kunshan business park it has another two manufacturing plants, one of which is in Guangzhou, in the south of the country, and the other is in Chengdu, a city in southwest China.

The deputy minister for Industry has remarked that Batz, a member of the Mondragon Corporation, “the world’s foremost cooperative group”, represents a way of working and economic development that is “very special, much loved and highly praised both within the Basque Country and abroad”. Zarraonandia has highlighted the great importance this new plant in China has for the Basque economy. “We need to line up alongside the leaders, we need to learn from those countries that perform the best, and we want to contribute to the economic development of our host countries”.

About the Batz Group: Today, the BATZ Group, headquartered in Igorre (Bizkaia), has an average headcount of 1,700 employees at more than 15 facilities throughout the world, with a turnover of €230m. It has four core businesses: stamping and dies, automotive systems, energy, and aerospace.